Who is PAS to advise the Taliban about Human and Women’s rights?
On 22nd November, the deputy foreign minister, Kamaruddin Jaffar, told parliament that Putrajaya and Taliban leaders had been holding talks since September, via the Malaysian embassy in Qatar. Amongst the topics discussed were basic human rights, and ensuring that the rights of Afghan women were protected.
Kamaruddin was responding to a question by the PH MP for Hulu Langat, Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus, who wanted to know if awareness and education on human rights were being implemented in the newly installed Taliban regime.
Will PAS tell the Taliban that they should not behead people or kill them just because they had earned a living by acting as translator to the American or British military? Will the Taliban listen? Their rule is associated with the use of force, by the gun and the sword.
The Taliban have tried to reassure the international community that they have cultivated a new image, in contrast to the Taliban of 20 years ago.
During the 1990s, the people of Afghanistan lived under a reign of fear. Football stadiums served an extra purpose as places of public executions. In front of a roaring crowd baying for blood, chanting “God is Great”, women who committed adultery were stoned to death, and thieves had their limbs amputated.
Today, the reign of fear and uncertainty has returned. Western forces abandoned the country but before the Taliban reached Kabul, there were reports that female judges, lecturers and television broadcasters had gone into hiding for fear of being beaten, or killed. The Afghan women are aware that they are at the mercy of the Taliban militants. So, how is PAS going to re-educate the Taliban whose views about women are steeped in the 7th Century?
Moreover, who is PAS to lecture the Taliban on human rights?
Back in Malaysia, the Mentri Besar of Kedah, Sanusi Mohd Nor, from PAS, demolished temples, insinuated that Indians were alcoholics and threatened a neighbouring Malaysian state that he would disrupt their supply of fresh water. He demanded millions of ringgits in compensation or else he would divert the course of the river.
The PAS led state of Kelantan banned unmarried men and women in Kelantan from riding a motorcyle together. Cinemas and musical concerts were banned ages ago.
In neighbouring Terengganu, men who failed to attend Friday prayers were paraded in a hearse around the centre of town. Women were not allowed to wear jeans, when they rode their kapchais.
Who are PAS to educate other people about human rights? The administration often use the moral police to invade our privacy.
How is PAS going to convince the Taliban to allow women to have an education? Many Afghan women fear that they will not be allowed out of the house without a male escort. Although the Taliban claimed that women will be permitted to work and go to school, they are not allowed to go on longer journeys without a male escort.
Music lessons have abruptly stopped. People recall the punishment their older relatives once faced when the Taliban were previously in power. People were banned from playing musical instruments or listening to music.
In Kelantan, the ban on music has already happened. Are PAS and the Taliban going to exchange notes on how to further suppress creativity in its people?
The Afghans are fearful of playing any form of sport because they have no idea how the current breed of Taliban militants feel about participating in games. Rather than face the wrath of the soldiers, many simply stay at home and sacrifice playing their chosen sport.
Back in Malaysia, PAS politicians have criticised female athletes for wearing clothes which they consider too revealing.
Last month, the PAS Youth chief, Khairil Nizam Khirudin, proposed that the Malaysian government establish diplomatic ties with the Taliban. He said that “communist China” had already reached out to the Taliban, so why not Malaysia?
Hownaïve is Khairil? China’s cosy relationship with Afghanistan is not entirely altruistic. Does one really believe the excuse that China is helping to rebuild a wartorn and poverty stricken country? China is eyeing the vast reserves of untapped mineral wealth in the form of lithium, in Afghanistan. If electric cars are the vehicle of the future, it is no longer fossil fuels that will be in demand, but lithium that will power the batteries to run the electric vehicles (EVs).
The Youth chief was not the only PAS politician to be enthusiastic about establishing diplomatic relations with the Taliban. In August, the PAS International Affairs and External Relations Chief, Mohd Khalil Abdul Hadi, congratulated the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
His congratulatory note, which he published on his Facebook post, earned him a ban on the site, and his message praising the Taliban was promptly removed for breaching community standards.
Moreover, the Taliban destroyed cultural artifacts like the Bamiyan statues. Back in Malaysia, many wonder why the Bujang valley and others historial, archaelogical and cultural artifacts which are not Islamic have been destroyed. Why? Do the Malays and Muslims want to suppress thei Hindu heritage?
Before PAS wants to advise the Taliban on human and women’s rights, they should take care of their own backyard first. Perhaps, PAS and the Taliban are a match made in Heaven
NB: I would like to know how PAS and the Taliban will tackle the:-
Economy, Poppy and more poppy to fuel the economy?
Sport. All sports are banned.
Social media. All Afghans have deleted their social media accounts because the Taliban could punish tbem.
Diplomacy: How do you motivate a nation where the people are battle scarred? How do you speak to the Taliban who dispenses justice from the end of a gun?
Terrorism world wide threat. ISIS was behind the attack on the airbase when people were desperate to flee Afghanistan. Will the Taliban retaliate especially as they have an arsenal of weaponry and firepower inclusing planes, helicopters, drones that are enough to equip a small nation?
Tackling the pandemic. Many humanitarian NGOs have fled. How will the Taliban manage the vaccination program?
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